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Mixed-use development thriving in Maryland housing types

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Stafford planners recently visited Kentlands, a mixed-use community in Maryland

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Date published: 11/18/2007

BY KAFIA HOSH

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--A group of mothers gathered with their strollers for coffee at a Starbucks in Gaithersburg, Md., recently. The women avoided a jam-packed strip mall parking lot and the morning rush hour. It's likely many of them walked to the store from their homes or parked on a nearby street.

Kentlands is a bustling, mixed-use community that blends residential and commercial development. It is decorated with tree-lined sidewalks and grassy courtyards. Its vibrant commercial center includes apparel outlets, restaurants and stores, surrounded by a blend of apartments, townhouses and single-family homes.

Kentlands, which sits on 367 acres, has a town-style concept similar to traditional neighborhood developments being planned in Stafford County.

To see a traditional neighborhood development in action, four Stafford Planning Commission members toured Kentlands last month.

"We see all of these plans, and we read all of the theories," said commission member Steve Pitzel. "We really just wanted to go see what these things look like after they've been developed,"

Kentlands was one of the first TND communities in the country and is a case study on how neo-traditional neighborhoods are created. Professors, architects and urban planners routinely visit.

Shelley Mastran, an urban planning professor at Virginia Tech's Alexandria campus, took her growth-management class on a field trip to Kentlands last year.

"We use it as an example," Mastran said. "We walked around and analyzed it and saw what makes it work."

Housing

The neighborhoods in Kentlands and other TND communities ensure there is constant activity.

"The idea is if you mix the uses together, you'll have life all around the clock," Mastran said. "The place won't get dead at night when office workers leave when you have residences there as well."

Kentlands includes virtually all housing types, including senior-living apartments, condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes built on smaller lots.

The eclectic mix of housing offers several degrees of affordability.

"Even wealthier people seem to prefer a different model," said Tony Tomasello, Gaithersburg's assistant city manager for economic and community development. "They're not looking for a big yard. They're looking for a safe place they can lock the house and go do something else."

Each Kentlands neighborhood has its own unique touch.

KENTLANDS 552 single-family detached homes 402 townhouses 767 condominiums 446 apartments 41 garage apartments 49 "live and work" units --Gaithersburg Department of Planning and Code Administration

Date published: 11/18/2007

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